Elastic fluid turbine arrangement



Dec. 7, 1943. E. M. PHILLIPS 2,336,290

ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE ARRANGEMENT Filed July 17, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.

\ I I 47 i 44 24 a0 4a 29' za J Z7 56 I 3 e 52 (a 54 E /6 5: n I l5 I l s 52, 2 5/5 l I l l I i I26 1 oxo/ I 42 45a Inventor: Edmund M. Phillips,

Dec. 7, 1943. E. M. PHILLIPS ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE ARRANGEMENT Filed July 17, 1941' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor: Edmund M. Phillips,

Hzs Attorney.

Dec. 7, 1943.

' E. M. PHILLIPS 2,336,290 ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE ARRANGEMENT F'iied July 17, 1941 s sheets-sheet s inventor Edmund M. P lips, .75 6. K7 w y 7 H15 Attorney Patented Dec. 7, 1943 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE Edmund M. Phillips, Marblehead, Mass, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 1'7,

' Claims.

The present invention relates to elastic fluid turbine arrangements comprising a turbine for driving a generator or like machine. More specifically the invention relates to the kind of arrangements that have a multi-stage turbine with a plurality of bucket wheels supported. on an overhung shaft and a turbine casing enclosed in an exhaust hood. The invention is of particular interest in connection with turbines operated with mercury vapor although it is not limited thereto necessarily.

Mercury turbines have to be perfectly sealed to prevent leakage of mercury vapor into the plant and thereby endanger the health of the operators. In order to avoid breaking of the seals, due to temperature distortions, provision for sufficient flexibility of the sealing devices has to be made. I-Ieretofore it has been deemed inadvisable to split the outer casing of mercury turbines along a horizontal plane through the turbine shaft in View of the difiiculty of providing satisfactory seals for horizontal casing joints. With the provision of a casing having lower and upper portions integrally united, assembling and disassembling of the turbine becomes rather difiicult because of the necessity of removing the rotor endwise from the turbine casing which in many instances necessitates the dismantling of generators or other machines connected to and driven by the turbine.

The general object of my invention is to provide an improved construction of elastic fluid turbine arrangements of the kind above specified whereby the turbine may be readily assembled and dismantled.

This is accomplished in accordance with my invention by the provision of a turbine with an inner casing and an outer casing or exhaust hood which latter is fabricated and essentially boxshaped. Opposite side walls and an end wall of the exhaust hood are integrally united whereas a flat top and an end wall iorming an integral structure are bolted to the side walls of the exhaust hood. The top is provided with a substantially rectangular opening to which a cover plate is attached. Removal of this cover plate permits access to the inner casing of the turbine and removal of bolts connecting separate portions of the inner turbine casing. The upper half of the inner casing may be removed through the opening in the top and upon such removal the rotor together with the top and end wall may be removed vertically from the remaining parts of the turbine structure.

For a better understanding of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and the claims appended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a view partly 1941, Serial No. 402,795

in section of an elastic fluid turbine arrangement embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a section along lines 22 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a part of Fig. 1.

The arrangement comprises an elastic fluid turbine if! having a shaft li supported on a bearing l2 and connected by a suitable coupling l3 to the shaft of a generator or like machine l4 driven by the turbine. The bearing I2 is located between the turbine l0 and the generator M. The rotor of the turbine l9 includes a plurality of bucket wheels l5 secured to a portion of the shaft ll overhanging from the bearing [2. Elastic fluid such as mercury vapor is conducted to the first bucket wheel of the rotor through an angular chamber 15 formed between an inner cup shaped wall ll and an outer funnel shaped wall l8 having an end portion concentrically spaced with a cylindrical portion of the cup shaped wall I! and connected thereto by a row of nozzle forming partitions l9. During operation the nozzles formed between the partitions l9 direct elastic fluid into the passages formed between the buckets of the first stage wheel l5.

Elastic fluid discharged from the first bucket wheels is conducted to the succeeding bucket wheels by a plurality of nozzle diaphragms 20 located between the bucket wheels and supported on a casing 2i. The casing 2! has lower and upper flanged halves secured together in a plane through the axis of the turbine by bolts 22. The left hand end of the casing Zl has a flange 23 centered with and connected to an end portion of the aforementioned wall It by flexible means to permit relative expansion between the inlet portion E8 of the turbine which is subject to higher temperatures during operation and the casing 2| of the turbine which is subject to lower temperatures during operation. This flexible connecting means comprises an angular ring 24 engaging a shoulder 25 formed on the end portion of the wall l8 and centered on the flange 23 of the casing 2| and securely fastened thereto by a row of bolts 26. The ring 24 is sealed to the end portion of the wall It by means of two concentrically spaced cylindrical walls 2? and 2B. The left hand ends of the walls 2'! and 28 are fused to a ring 29 whereas the right hand end of the wall 21 is fused to the ring 26 and the right hand end of the wall 28 is fused to the end portion of the wall l8. With this arrangement the end portion of the wall it may expand radially relative to the ring 24 and the casing 2! without losing the concentricity therewith.

The right hand end of the casing 2| forms a flange 36 centered with a flanged portion 3| of an exhaust hood and secured thereto by bolts am. The exhaust hood as best shown in Fig. 3 forms an essentially box shaped fabricated structure with plane vertical side walls 32 and 33 integrally formed with a front Wall 34 having an opening 35 through which the inlet portion of the funnel shaped wall l8 projects. In addition, the boxed shaped structure includes an end wall 36 adjacent to the exhaust end of the turbine and integrally formed with an upper wall or top 3?. The top 3? has a rectangular opening 33 to which a cover 39 is secured by means of a plurality of bolts 40. The end Wall 35 is secured to flanged end portions of the side walls 32 and 33 and to a lower end Wall ll connecting and integrally united with lower portions of the side walls 32, 33 by means of a plurality of bolts 42. The top 31 of the exhaust hood is secured to upper flanged portions of the end wall 34 and the side walls 32, 33 by bolts 43. The lower portion of the exhaust hood or outer casing is fused to Walls 43a forming part of a condenser or condenser boiler.

In order to prevent leakage of fluid along the various bolts, these bolts are sealed to the corresponding portions of the casing, thus the bolts Ml fastening the cover 39 to the top 31 have outer heads enclosed by a sealing channel 44 formed by a sealing strip which latter has an edge fused to the cover 39 and another edgefused to the top 3?. Similarly, adjacent portions of the endwall 36 and the lower end wall ii and the side walls 32, 33 are hermetically sealed by a sealing strip 56 enclosing the heads of the bolts 42 and having an edge fused to the end wall 35 and another edge fused to the flange formed by the lower end wall M and the side Walls 32, 33. The top 31 is hermetically sealed to the flange formed by the upper portions of the side walls 32, 33 and the end wall 34 by another sealing strip ll enclosing the heads of the bolts t3 and forming an extension of the sealing strip 4%. The exhaust hood more particularly a portion of the'hood near the edge formed between the end Wall 38 and the top 3i is reinforced by the provision of a plurality of rods or struts E8 extending between the side walls (-32, 33 and having end portions fastened to blocks 49 which latter are rigidly secured to the Walls 32 and 33 respectively by bolts 50. The end wall 35 adjacent to the exhaust end of the turbine has an intermediate conically shaped portion El and an inner ring shaped portion 52. The ring shaped portion 52 forms a support for a packing having two halves and 5 located on opposite sides of the ring 52 and secured thereto by a row of bolts 55. The end wall 36 is connected to the aforementioned ring 3! by a plurality of ribs or webs '55 fused to the ring 31! and the end wall 35.

Blocks 5? are welded to outer portions of the side walls 32 and 33 respectively and secured to a turbine support 58 by means of bolts 59 (Fig. 2).

A turbine as described above may be readily disassembled and assembled without necessitat-- ing .disassembly of the generator It or like machines arranged near the opposite ends of the turbine. For the purpose of disassembling, the sealing strips 45, 46 and 41 are cut open and removed. Removal of the cover plate 39 by loosening of the bolts to permits access to the interior of the exhaust hood and removal of the top. This permits inspection of the interior of the turbine. If it is desired to remove the entire rotor from the casing, it is necessary to loosen the coupling 53 and to disassemble the upper half of the bearing 52 as Well as to remove the struts it and the blocks 49 by loosening the bolts 59. Thereupon the bolts 49 and 32 are removed so that upon slight axial movement the turbine rotor together with the end wall 36 and the top 37 may be lifted vertically.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Elastic fluid turbine comprising an inner casing having upper and lower halves flanged together, a rotor having an overhung shaft with a bolts 25 and 3ia connecting the inner casing 2| to the exhaust hood. Upon removal of the bolts 22 the upper half of the inner turbine casing 2! together with the upper halves of the diaphragms 20 may be removed through the opening in the plurality of bucket wheels disposed within the inner casing, an exhaust hood enclosing the inner casing and being in the form of a box-shaped fabricated structure with substantially plane side and end walls, the side walls and one end wall of said structure being integrally united, a top and another end wall being united and bolted to the side walls, the top having an opening, and a cover bolted to the opening, said opening being of a size sufficient to permit removal of one half of the inner turbine casing therethrough,

2. Elastic fluid turbine comprising an inner and an outer casing, the inner casing having two halves flanged together, a rotor having bucket iwheels disposed within the inner casing, the outer casing having side walls and an end Wall integrally united and a top with an opening'and another end Wall integrally united with the top, means securing the top and the other end wall to the first mentioned walls and a cover for closing the opening in the top, the opening in the top being large enough to permit one half of the inner turbine casing to be passed therethrough.

3. Elastic fluid turbine having an inner casing with upper and lower halves flanged together and an outer casing with walls including a unitary flat top and an end Wall structure removably secured to the other walls of the outer casing, said structure having an opening in the top large enough to permit one half of the inner turbine casing to pass therethrough.

4. Elastic fluid turbine comprising an. inner casing having upper and lower halves, an outer casing having side walls, end walls and a, top, the side Walls and one end wall being integrally united, one end wall having an opening, an inlet conduit passing through the opening for conducting elastic fluid to the turbine, the other end wall and the top forming aunitary structure removably secured to the side walls, the top having an opening dimensioned to permit one half of the inner turbine casing to pass therethrough, a ring removably secured to one end of the inner turbine casing and spaced from the other end Wall, and webs having portions integrally united with the ring and other portions integrally united with the other end wall.

5. Elastic fluid turbine exhaust hood forming a box-shaped fabricated structure with side walls, end walls and a top, the side walls and an end wall being integrally united, the other end Wall and the top forming a unitary structure,

means removably securing said structure to the side walls, the top being flat and having'an opening, and a cover removably attached and sealed to the top.

EDMUND M. PHILLIPS. 

